Parallels Desktop 17.1 brings full Windows 11 support to macOS Monterey
The latest version of virtualization tool Parallels Desktop now fully supports macOS Monterey, and significantly will mean Macs can run Windows 11.
Parallels Desktop 17.1 supports vTPMs to allow Windows 11 to run on Macs
Parallels Desktop previously became an Apple Silicon native app with version 17, but there remained issues over running Windows 11 on it. Microsoft's OS had certain minimum specifications, and key amongst those was the requirement for a Trusted Platform Module (TPM).
Specifically, Microsoft announced that it requires a TPM 2.0, and not all Macs do. However, Parallels says that it has created a virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) to address the issue.
"Knowing that Parallels Desktop plays a critical role in enabling users to run the latest versions of Windows on their favorite Mac device today," said Parallels Vice President for Engineering, Elena Koryakina, "we've developed a simple solution to help all users upgrade to Windows 11 with the enablement of vTPMs by default on all Mac devices."
"The latest version of Parallels Desktop also builds on our customers' top requests," she continued, "with new gaming and 3D integrations to further enhance the user experience."
Parallels has previously used vTPMs, but only on specific, professional editions of the Desktop software. Now this new version will be included in the Standard, Pro and Business versions.
A Parallels technical blog describes how Desktop has implemented vTPMs, and how users can benefit from it.
Parallels Desktop 17 is a subscription app, starting at $80 per year for the Standard Edition. The Pro and Business Editions are available for $99.99 per year. Those who purchased a perpetual license for a previous version of Parallels Desktop can upgrade to Parallels Desktop 17 for $49.99.
Read on AppleInsider
Parallels Desktop 17.1 supports vTPMs to allow Windows 11 to run on Macs
Parallels Desktop previously became an Apple Silicon native app with version 17, but there remained issues over running Windows 11 on it. Microsoft's OS had certain minimum specifications, and key amongst those was the requirement for a Trusted Platform Module (TPM).
Specifically, Microsoft announced that it requires a TPM 2.0, and not all Macs do. However, Parallels says that it has created a virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) to address the issue.
"Knowing that Parallels Desktop plays a critical role in enabling users to run the latest versions of Windows on their favorite Mac device today," said Parallels Vice President for Engineering, Elena Koryakina, "we've developed a simple solution to help all users upgrade to Windows 11 with the enablement of vTPMs by default on all Mac devices."
"The latest version of Parallels Desktop also builds on our customers' top requests," she continued, "with new gaming and 3D integrations to further enhance the user experience."
Parallels has previously used vTPMs, but only on specific, professional editions of the Desktop software. Now this new version will be included in the Standard, Pro and Business versions.
A Parallels technical blog describes how Desktop has implemented vTPMs, and how users can benefit from it.
Parallels Desktop 17 is a subscription app, starting at $80 per year for the Standard Edition. The Pro and Business Editions are available for $99.99 per year. Those who purchased a perpetual license for a previous version of Parallels Desktop can upgrade to Parallels Desktop 17 for $49.99.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
The only issue I have seen is getting it activated. Windows 11 is free to owners of Windows 10 and I have a license for 10 Pro but it was not installed on my ARM Mac for obvious reasons. Have a message in to Microsoft and will see.
but this development shows that the TPM, as used by AMD and Intel, at least, can easily be worked around by software, so its value is questionable.
Not a good start. I updated my Parallels software, it installed the updated Parallel's stuff and here's what I got when checking for OS updates. Guess I'll need to check with Parallels on who to do. Did a quick check of all settings and nothing about TPM showed up. I'm running a late 2015 iMac so Parallels should be able to adjust things to get Windows 11 to work, especially with the TPM emulation.
Ran Health Check and it says my CPU isn't supported. I went through Microsoft's list of supported Intel Core CPUs and there's a ton of them. It also says the PC must support Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 is not detected. I already submitted a service request (kind of, to their blog).
Here are some of the issues you will run into (not had a chance to test Parallels 11.1 yet):
While Direct X is well supported in Parallels, you won't be able to run software that uses Vulkan or OpenGL. OpenCL GPGPU compute is not available either.
Microsoft still won't be able to match the performance of Rosetta which takes advantages of additional instructions on Apple Silicon.
While I was able to upgrade one of my VMs from Windows 10 Pro to Windows 11 Pro and retain the license. I don't see a way to transfer this license to Windows 11 ARM.
In Parallels 11.0, it was very difficult to move a VM from one computer to another if the virtual TPM was used. This is something that Parallels could fix in a future release.
Try a Windoze 7 product key. I don't know if it'll work on the ARM version, but it definitely will for Intel versions.
https://makmodo.com/how-to-bypass-windows-11-requirements/
Interestingly enough, the Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_processors) shows the "Latest" group of processors to be 7th generation through 11th generation. So maybe Intel will only provide support for those and MS is unwilling to shoulder that burden either.
My gut feeling is that this decision is business-driven more than technology-driven.
VMware Fusion does not run on any M1 Mac.
And I still fail to see how the Intel / AMD TPM implementations have anything to do with Windows 11 on ARM. I did read your entire post but it's not clear.